DVD
REVIEW: LEGION
05/09/10

OVERVIEW: From Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, the studio that brought you Resident Evil and Underworld comes the action-packed supernatural thriller LEGION, arriving on Blu-ray™ & DVD this May 11, 2010. A dusty diner in the Mojave Desert becomes ground zero for Earth’s final showdown in this startlingly original and terrifying new film starring Paul Bettany (Iron Man 2, The Da Vinci Code), Lucas Black (Jarhead), Tyrese Gibson (Death Race, Transformers 1 & 2), Dennis Quaid (G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra, Vantage Point) and Kate Walsh (TV’s “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Private Practice”). Scott Stewart, the visual effects wizard behind some of Hollywood’s biggest blockbusters, including Iron Man, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, makes his stunning directorial debut with this suspenseful, visually breathtaking story about a small band of human survivors struggling to fend off an army of vengeful supernatural beings.

SYNOPSIS: At a remote desert truck stop, the fate of the world will be decided. Evil's armies are amassing. Armed and united by the Archangel Michael (Paul Bettany), a group of strangers become unwitting soldiers on the frontlines of the Apocalypse. Their mission: protect a waitress and her sacred unborn child from the relentless, bloody siege of the demonic legion. Also starring Dennis Quaid (G.I. JOE: THE RISE OF THE COBRA, VANTAGE POINT), Lucas Black (JARHEAD) and Tyrese Gibson (TRANSFORMERS).

DVD: The film is presented in widescreen with a
2.40:1 aspect ration preserving its theatrical
format. Looks clean images without any types of color
saturation. No evident issue in the many night scenes. Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has done it
again with this transfer. Not only the picture looks
good in this version of the film, also the sound it is
good. A Dolby Digital English and French 5.1
providing a nice complement to the picture. It also includes
English and French.

In terms of Special Features
the DVD includes three. The first one “Creating the Apocalypse: Behind the Physical Effects,” a look at the film’s breakthrough action sequences and special effects; “Humanity's Last Line of Defense: The Cast and Characters,” featuring interviews with the film’s large ensemble cast, and “From Pixels to Picture: A Look at the Visual Effects,” in which LEGION’s filmmakers reveal how computer generated effects were seamlessly integrated into the finished film.

Overall Scott Stewart's idea of
the apocalypse is original and he managed to keep it interesting
for the first 30 minutes of the film. Unfortunately after that
setting the story goes down hill taking the audience no
where, making the film just another action movie. It seems that
Scott was more worry about delivering unforgettable special
effects and action than fully developing his initial judgment
day vision. Fans of Underwood and The Resident Evil series
will have no problem absorbing this film